Robert E. Gregory did something that...

DARING AS DILLINGER.

February 23, 1989

CROWN POINT, IND. — DARING AS DILLINGER. Robert E. Gregory did something that even notorious gangster John Dillinger couldn't do: escape from the Lake County Jail without a real pistol. Gregory, a convicted burglar, escaped Tuesday by poking a fake gun fashioned from a bar of soap at a court bailiff. He then commandeered a car, but his freedom lasted less than an hour. Legend has it that Dillinger escaped from the jail in 1934 after brandishing a gun he carved from wood. Dillinger actually used a real .45-caliber automatic. Dillinger remained free until he was shot to death four months later outside Chicago's Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934. Gregory was arrested by Gary, Ind., police at 1:30 p.m. No one was hurt. ''The guy is an artist,'' said Lake County Sheriff Stephen R. Stiglich. The soap gun was shaped like a military .45-caliber pistol and was blackened with shoe polish or dye.